Final Post

In "Sonny's Blues," a man finally comes to understand the darkness and suffering that consumes his brother, and he begins to appreciate the music that his brother uses to calm those blues. The main theme of "Sonny's Blues" is suffering, particularly the sufferings of black people in America. Although Baldwin presents only one example of overt racism in the story, the death of Sonny's uncle under the wheels of a car driven by a group of drunken whites—the repercussions of the treatment received by black people is omnipresent.

Hemingway's theme in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is a theme that runs through all of his literature: there is no God, no meaning to this world, and man must consequently find something to distract himself from his horrible truth. For the older waiter, a clean, well-lighted café is such an escape. This is an artificial light, made by man for man, yet it is the only way to step out of the darkness of reality: that life is filled with nothing meaningful.

“The Road Not Taken”

This is a wonderful poem with many different themes and ideas. One of the biggest themes is not being afraid to take a chance. Some of the other themes include, not following the crowd, trying new things, and standing for something. This poem stated that the author "took the one (road) less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" so the author is telling the reader that we too should not be afraid to take another path.

Plays

1. What genre is each play? Explain why.

• Captured by Feministas = ____________________________________

Tragicomedy – Because the dialogue is comedic. The play has you laughing throughout the readings and his opinion of a women compared to that of how a woman views the topic. Tragedy comes in because he is fighting to save his life from the women. He seems to be very hypocritical in a way.

• You Know How to Whistle, Don’t You? = ________________________

Melodrama – Because her tone changes throughout the entire play, she goes from being very assertive and head strong, to just being lonely and desperate.

1. How does his choice of diction affect your reading of the plays? Be specific in your response. Use examples as support.
   

I found it hard to understand both plays because while reading it myself I feel that one person is speaking only in both plays, it seems to run on and on, from one subject to the next. If I were to actually see them being acted out, I might be able to understand the dialogue a lot more. It also sets a visual aspect to see the emotions in a way that Rick Najera wanted it.

1. What is the theme for each play? Provide reasons to support your answer.
   

The theme for the first play is about feministas. The man feeling like he is more superior to that of a woman in which he talks down to females and thinks he can control them.

The theme for the second play is a sense more about cultural differences. He is an American and she is Cuban. She wants to experience American life, or what it would be like, but he has no interest in her, probably because of her forwardness and appearance.

1. Define the antagonist and protagonist in each play. Explain how you know.
   

In the first play the man is the antagonist because he is chiding on the women, and the women or the protagonists because they are defending themselves; however, you can also switch it around because the women are in fact inflicting danger upon the man, where he has no way of defending himself.

In the second play, the girl is the antagonist because she is creating all the drama within the play. She is trying to pursue the man in every way possible, and he isn’t paying her any mind.

1. What is your opinion of each play?
   

I found both plays to be quite interesting. Though a little hard to comprehend and understand, due to the fact that I am reading it on the paper with the dialogue I feel should be portrayed compared to seeing it in person. Having seeing the actors express each feeling to the audience might make it much easier to understand what the writer was trying to bring across to the audience; visually would be a key in understanding.